New-style officers to meet the public

TWO new-style helpers for the police are going on patrol in Holmfirth.

Jackelyn Dews and Bilal Ashraf are police community support

officers - with the power to detain people for up to 30 minutes.

They are the first of a group of 18 such workers in the Huddersfield police division.

One aim of the new appointments is to provide a reassuring presence on the streets.

Jackelyn, 30, worked in buying and customer relations before taking up her new job. She lives on the outskirts of Huddersfield.

She said: "I am looking forward to getting to know the local community, meeting people on the streets and chatting face to face with them.

"It is a good opportunity to become more directly involved."

Bilal, 22, who lives in Halifax, graduated from Huddersfield University last year with a law degree.

He said: "Hopefully, I can help to bridge the gap between the public and the police by getting directly involved."

Duties of police community support workers include taking part in high-visibility patrols and giving advice on crime prevention.

The West Yorkshire police force is one of 27 to get cash for support officers.

Chief Insp Martin Sykes, who is in charge of operational matters for Huddersfield police, said: "They are new resources and we have made a conscious decision to put them into the community to work with our community beat officers.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for them to make a worthwhile contribution to the Holmfirth area, building on the excellent work which is going on there already."

He added: "Hopefully, they will become recognised in the area. People should feel able to approach Jackelyn and Bilal directly with any problems."

Support officers are not intended as a replacement for regular police and have only limited powers.

They have their own uniform, similar to a police constable's, and will carry police radios.